Ordinary Time Earnings

 

What is ordinary time earnings?

Ordinary time earnings (OTE) is the amount paid to employees for their ordinary hours of work. OTE includes payments such as commissions and shift loadings.

Employers use:

• Ordinary time earnings to work out the minimum super guarantee contribution for employees.
• Salary and wages to work out the super guarantee charge (SGC). SGC is only needed if the minimum super guarantee contribution was not paid by the due date. Salary and wages are similar to OTE but also includes any overtime payments.

Below is a chart of ordinary time earnings payment types

 

Overtime

Payment	Salary or wages	OTE
Overtime hours over and above the ordinary hours stated in an award or agreement	Yes	No
Overtime where the ordinary hours of work are not stated in an award or agreement, or not separated from other hours	Yes- all hours worked	Yes- all hours worked

Casual work, piece work and commissions

Payment	Salary or wages	OTE
Casual employee shift loadings	Yes	Yes
Casual employee overtime payments	Yes	No
Piece-rates – no ordinary hours of work stated	Yes	Yes
Commission	Yes	Yes

Allowances

Payment	Salary or wages	OTE
Allowance that are not a predetermined amount to offset a particular expense (for example, allowances for paperwork completion)	Yes	Yes
Allowance by way of unconditional extra payment (for example, the employee has complete discretion on whether to spend the allowance)	Yes	Yes
Expense allowance expected to be used in full	No	No
Danger or site allowance (these are OTE unless they are intended to offset particular expenses)	Yes	Yes
Retention allowance	Yes	Yes
On-call allowance outside ordinary hours of work	No	No
Hourly on-call allowance for ordinary hours of work for doctors	Yes	Yes

Expenses

Payment	Salary or wages	OTE
Reimbursement of expenses, including travel costs	No	No
Payment for unfair dismissal	No	No
Workers’ compensation – returned to work	Yes	Yes
Workers’ compensation – not working	No	No

Bonuses

Payment	Salary or wages	OTE
Performance bonus	Yes	Yes
Christmas bonus	Yes	Yes
Bonus labelled as ex gratia but in respect of ordinary hours work	Yes	No
Bonus in respect of overtime only	Yes	No

Leave

Payment	Salary or wages	OTE
Annual leave	Yes	Yes
Annual leave loading – clearly linked to lost opportunity to work overtime	Yes	No
Annual leave loading – all other	Yes	Yes
Family and Domestic Violence leave	Yes	Yes
Sick leave	Yes	Yes
Parental leave – e.g. maternity leave, paternity leave, adoption leave	No	No
Ancillary leave – e.g. jury duty, defence reserve service	No	No
Long service leave	Yes	Yes

Termination payments

Payment	Salary or wages	OTE
Termination payments – in lieu of notice	Yes	Yes
Termination payments – unused annual leave, long service leave or sick leave	Yes	No